Detectives say an 89-year old man punched on a bus died from natural causes, not the assault

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An autopsy conducted by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office determined an 89-year old man who was punched on an L.A. County Metro bus last month died from natural causes and not from injuries sustained in the assault.

Officials with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department say the elderly man died from hypertension and atherosclerosis, a condition involving the hardening of the arteries.

Investigators were called to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Nov. 10 when the man died at the hospital.

On Oct. 21, Luke Schoedel, 35, was arrested near the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Main St. for allegedly hitting the 89-year old man on the bus. He has been in jail since then on $80,000.

Detectives were waiting for the coroner’s office to determine the elderly man’s cause of death. If the autopsy had indicated that the man had died from his injuries in the bus assault, Schoedel could have faced more series charges.